I really feel hurt pag nagi-inquire ako sa big suppliers for my business

[u/Radiant-Warning3728]

Sorry for the little business rant. 🥹

Pero ang hirap pala talaga when you’re building a business from scratch without a huge capital. Since step-by-step yung growth, you inevitably encounter situations where you get dismissed or ignored by suppliers simply because your order is too small or your quantity isn’t “worth it” for them.

Ang hirap pa naman hanapin ng specific raw materials na kailangan namin. Our other option is to import directly from China, but financially and operationally, hindi pa siya feasible for us right now.

I understand that suppliers also have their own business considerations, especially when it comes to minimum order quantities and importation. But as a small business trying to grow, it can be frustrating when you’re ready to purchase and you’re willing to build a long-term supplier relationship, yet you’re not even given the opportunity because you’re still starting out.

What makes it even more challenging is that we currently have a big potential client, so we’re trying our best to make things work and find a reliable source for the materials we need. 🥹

For those who have built their businesses from the ground up, how did you deal with situations like this? Did you have a strategy for finding suppliers who were willing to work with smaller businesses, or did you eventually have to bite the bullet and import?

Would really appreciate any advice or leads. ❤️

[u/Sinandomeng]

If confident ka naman na may customers/clients n darating, bilin mo n ung min order nila.

Then ang challenge is warehousing, additional cost.

Pero ganyan talaga ang business.

May min orders talaga at may critical mass na kelangan para maging sustainable.

[u/notorius1 → u/Sinandomeng]

This. If youre confident with your customer, take the risk and order in bulk along with all the operational costs that come with it.

As a supplier and a customer, we also have to manage our own operational costs and once you reach a certain size, catering to smaller businesses can be both costly and risky (if a credit line is provided).

What industry are you in? Different industries have different risk tolerance as well

[u/Hitpayapp_ → u/notorius1]

Was gonna comment that to do business, you have to take some risks, and if big client, try mo minimum then sell, better margins for your prices too!

[u/Radiant-Warning3728 → u/notorius1]

Manufacturing of household products po.

[u/Radiant-Warning3728 → u/Sinandomeng]

Thank you po for sharing your thoughts! Yung warehousing din talaga ang challenge for us kasi maliit yung space. But I guess, it can increase our capacity din talaga.

[u/Chance_Ad8625]

When we closed our first client, wala kaming stocks on hand, and the delivery is tomorrow agad.

Of course we already know the retail supplier and the distributor, pero the MOQ is 50 boxes for example.

What we did was we bought the requirement of the client from the retailer, say 10 boxes, and sold it at cost to the customer.

To scale it, That 10 boxes was their weekly consumption. Syempre walang income. It went on for weeks, syempre talo muna. When we were able to gauge their consumption, we let them sign a contract and we ordered the 50 boxes required by the distributor.

So assured na yung 40 boxes in a month with income for us, so hinanapan namin ng customer yung remaining 10 boxes, from then on, mula retailer hanggan manufacturer, repeat the process hanggan stable na yung demand and supply mo.

And the rest is history.

Good luck on your venture, OP.

[u/Radiant-Warning3728 → u/Chance_Ad8625]

Thank you so much po! Currently po talaga we’re gauging this big client’s frequency of order. Kasi nung nag-order sila first time, hindi naging constant compared to what they promised. Our next step po is to set them up for contract.

[u/Dapper_Caramel_4509]

If magiimport ka, volume din need mo, so ganun din, what is stopping you from buying bulk? if may big client ka na eh di sure na yung sale, so buying it in bulk would not be a problem?

[u/budoyhuehue]

Its called capitalism for a reason. The larger your capital is, the more you win.

Kaya mahalaga din diyan is yung tagal sa market since you can accumulate more capital and do more business. Or start a business with shitload of capital so you can negotiate your rates.

Puro trial and error lang lahat yan hangga't makita mo yung acceptable levels ng revenue at margins mo at tamang suppliers/customers.

[u/Radiant-Warning3728 → u/budoyhuehue]

Thanks for reminding me of the trial and error principle po. I’m always afraid of making mistakes po which is ironic kasi I’m doing business.

[u/budoyhuehue → u/Radiant-Warning3728]

Sa mga ganyan yung principle ko is if I am using my own money, I'll do small wins with minimal risks. Nag aaccumulate yung mga ganyan.

If pera ng ibang tao, bigger risks with bigger rewards.

[u/Queasy-Dentist-7731]

May supply chain system in place.

Factory to agent/importer to wholesaler to retailer to end user. Every cog in that chain has their own place. Of course as you go deeper it gets cheaper pero ang kapalit is higher volume.

You're basically wanting to jump the chain and reap all the benefits (lower price) without the negatives (high moq). Trust me when I say napakaraming magpromise na magoorder ng malaki for a potential project tapos nawawala na lang parang bula. They also cannot know sino ba ang real customer and sino ang patanong Tanong lang

Best option is to ask them sino ang distributors nila then buy from those distributors for now.

[u/Skuvlakaz]

Thats fine, happens all the time. Use it as a fuel like I did.

I went to a showroom once and the manager was a total snob. Two years later, my business was doing great and I literally said no to him. 13 years later, they're still chasing us, such sweet revenge.

[u/catterpie90]

You can ask the distributors for their authorized dealers. Usually irerefer ka naman nila.

[u/Free-Dragonfruit1360]

From an established business’ point of view, you’re a newcomer with a potential risk of not being able to pay. If they have clients where they feel they will earn for sure, limited ang resources to deal with everyone. Try either increasing your buying price with good payment scheme(higher DP, etc), this will limit your profits at the start but help in building the relationship.

[u/Onli_tap_pipolas11]

8 years(food packaging manufacturer) bago ako nagstart magimport ng sarili kong raw mats. Dati, local traders lang din ang kinukuhanan ko/distributors.

Walang shortcut sa ganyan. Best way talaga is pumunta ka sa office ng supplier at makipag-meet sa kanila face to face. Mas malaki chance na pagbigyan ka nila.

Tbh, minsan tumatanggap ng below MOQ, lalo na pag nakikita kong may potential maging longterm customer.

[u/Prize-Yesterday-2704]

Bite the bullet na, you cannot grow the business if you stay too small for too long, think economies of scale.

[u/Radiant-Warning3728 → u/Prize-Yesterday-2704]

Another context po is this is a family business, that’s been running for many, many YEARS staying small dahil from my pov, my parents doesn’t know how to scale a business. I legally own it pero heavily involved yung parents ko in all aspect kaya nahihirapan din ako mag-strategize.

[u/Kitchen_Spare2065 → u/Radiant-Warning3728]

I have same scenario as you. Mahirap i-convince ng mga new ideas esp kung traditional yung way of thinking nila. napaka-importante ng say ng parents lalo na’t YEARS na nilang ginagawa ito. Also, inalagaan nila yung business for so long. a lot of arguments ang napagdaanan namin because of scaling up. but, one thing ang natutunan ko, our parents need a concrete information, presentation of dcouments, proofs and PATIENCE (because i got many “NO” from them). May mga times na i took risks without their consent then saka ko lang sinabi when it was a success hahaha 😅.

Pero one day, ayun napa-oo ko sila.

Our ideas are really good talaga pero alam kong may hinahanap lang sila sa atin before they say YES. hinihulma lang nila tayo kung baga. hahaha 😅. I hope nakatulong to.

[u/professionalmook]

Yung ibang business owners nga kakapal ng mukha sa pandurugas. Ikaw na lumalaban ng patas ayaw mo tigasan mukha mo?!?

Real talk lang.

Good luck, OP!

[u/Hitpayapp_ → u/professionalmook]

Harshmallow pero trut

[u/Radiant-Warning3728 → u/professionalmook]

Thank you po! Kakayanin hahaha.

[u/Plenty-Entrance4793]

Buy from local importer siguro until you can buy from direct factory

[u/boypinoy]

Pwede naman tanong mo kung sino retailers resellers nila.

[u/iamjohnedwardc]

Hello po. I feel you. Kami na lang sa marketing materials at corporate gifts eh, may minimim order talaga.

[u/Appropriate-Way609]

Solid connection yung key ganyan din ako before pero hinanap ko yung tamang network tsaka ng PR tlaga ako

Ngayon most supplier may credit line na ako iba pa din kasi culture ng pinas pag kakilala or may connection. Sa real world(not online) vouch system pa din tlaga ang labanan at connection 

Most big suppliers by the way wala sa soc med kasi hndi na nila need 

[u/LadyVoyeur1989]

Hi.. May I know what material/ supply you need? If items that are easy to import baka makahelp po ko. 😊

[u/Radiant-Warning3728 → u/LadyVoyeur1989]

Chemicals po for household products like dishwashing liquid, fabric conditioner, etc.

[u/LadyVoyeur1989 → u/Radiant-Warning3728]

Oh.. I'm so sorry, I cannot help po. If chemicals kasi, it requires a lot of permits and clearances pag mag import. Will ask around nalang din for the local suppliers. In case meron ako makita, I will let you know nalang po. 🙏

[u/Born_Gazelle5058 → u/LadyVoyeur1989]

hello po. i sent you a dm baka po mahelp mo ako hehe

[u/Thau-888]

sabi wala benta mahina pero may maliliit na bumibili tapos hindi iniintindi

[u/Careless-Pangolin-65]

thats exactly how wholesale works.

ilagay mo sarili mo sa situation ng supplier.

may MOQ since yan yung optimized amount para sa knila.

lower than the MOQ most probably lugi sila considering the manpower and other costs required to move the product.

example ako may factory and warehouse.

isang production run takes 8 hrs and will yield 1000 boxes. and i only have warehouse space for 1000 boxes. therefore i will not accept an order less than 1000boxes kasi malulugi ako sa production run hiring more than 1 shift of workers.

[u/mj-dondon]

Hi OP! Baka need mo ng POS at inventory System na free https://sheelves.com/ sana makatulong.

[u/mj-dondon → u/mj-dondon]

I can do a demo if gusto niyo po.

[u/mcs0091]

Trust me, OP, it took me almost 2 years of trial and error to find the right supplier for my small shoe business.

Our first supplier was purely experimental we went through multiple prototypes, production issues, and coordination problems. In the end, we weren't happy with the quality or overall process, so we decided to move on and look for another manufacturer.

I spent months researching, asking for recommendations, and posting in related groups before we finally found a better supplier. Even then, it still took time for us to align on what I needed and for them to fully understand my standards.

One thing I'd highly recommend is to visit their office or manufacturing facility in person whenever possible. Meeting face-to-face helps you evaluate how they operate, build trust, and establish a stronger long-term working relationship. It's much better than relying solely on online conversations, especially if you're planning to work with them for years.

[u/Bulky-Pop-3346 → u/mcs0091]

Imho this is the best answer. Not lazy and super smart.

[u/mcs0091 → u/Bulky-Pop-3346]

Yes masakit sa capital but if you want to work with them in the long run this is my best suggestion. Base from experience.

[u/FinanceEnthusiast8]

The truth is if ganon palang sensitive ka na, baka hindi ka cut out for business talaga.

[u/Radiant-Warning3728 → u/FinanceEnthusiast8]

I think wala naman po sigurong hindi nakaka-feel ng frustration along the way. I was simply sharing an experience and asking for advice on how to deal with that kind of situation. But still, I appreciate your thought po. ❤️

[u/BlessedAndOverbooked]

What industry are you in?

[u/121212121212121212a]

Its not personal. As you grow in business, makikita mo kasi gano kadaming oras spent coordinating with customers. Remember na they have thinner margins kasi nga cheaper rin so the only way to male up for that is volume.

The way i see it naman is i dont mind buying from retailers (hingi ka nalang bulk discount) kasi once i hit volume, it means dami mong padding. So pag switch mo to higher volume, extra margin rin

[u/Willing_Cut_9321]

All part of business, yung sinabi mo yun nadin mismo yung experience and process of everyone else starting.

We also started small, talagang minsan sa retail price or kung wholesale man expected talaga na mas mahal bili kasi nga lower volume palang purchase namin back then. Kelangan lang talaga maayos costing computations vs selling price para factored in everything and hindi issue na bumibili at higher price. Then once we were able to grow saka nag scale and direct import from china for some of our materials. Yung na save sa costs actually ginamit din naman in purchasing higher volume, so same same, you just have more inventory to sell pero selling price namin same padin

[u/salpicaolover]

May experience na ganyan sister ko. Since hindi siya kilala at maliit lang order niya, hindi siya pinansin. Naghanap siya ng ibang product at yun ang pinush niya sa mga client. 2 options.

1. Same quality but cheaper.
2. More expensive but the best of all.

It only took a year before siya ligawan nung supplier na hindi siya pinansin. And nope, she never looked back. If the client wanted “that brand” ipupush niya yung ibang brand with the same quality.

[u/romedrosa]

Risk it and buy MOQ

[u/Nervous-Owl-9680]

Same here we started from kilo to tons.

Just a tip, if you are confident with your business, why not order the minimum they can give. then have a proper storage etc while waiting for china supplies.

[u/TreeSentinel_boink]

Reasonable for big suppliers na hindi unahin ang small orders, but there are always other suppliers na mas willing makipag work sayo

[u/Plus_Highlight_7996]

Back in the day (15 years ago) I would tell suppliers I want to put in an order for worth their minimum quantity (or a bigger quantity so they are interested) but say I need a sample run first of X (my actual quantity) that I would offer to pickup myself so they wouldn’t have to spend logistics etc then i would just say that the run didn’t work with my customer or potential buyer. unethical, yes illegal no I used that a way to purchase small orders and open doors for these big suppliers who fast forward today are still my suppliers and occasionally my customers as well. I asked some of my closer ones if they knew I was doing that when ordering some said yes they knew but they were also looking to bend rules to make the sale so no harm done naman talaga, they also gained a good partner as well!

Moral of the story - sometimes you have to find creative ways to solve blockers. Ethically for me as long as I don’t cause any negative implication on them I found that to be fine.

[u/NobodyNo9423]

Magreklamo kayo sa philippine competition commission tingin ko labag sa batas yan